Supplier Finds Interesting Way to Attract Engineers

by Jeff Gilbert
WWJ AutoBeat Reporter

The people at auto supplier Ricardo are finding a unique way to attract engineering talent.  They are putting up billboards and taking out radio ads to try to find applicants to fill thirty open positions.

Ricardo says they are looking for people who want to rediscover why they got into engineering in the first place.

"You have to have a passion about it," says Andrew Smart, vice president, business development for Ricardo.  "Because if you don't have a passion, why do it."

Ricardo says the engineers they hire will work on a variety of projects, including a new ground vehicle for the military, that can transform into an aircraft.  They are also looking at ways of improving fuel economy.

Going the advertising route is expensive, and unusual, but Ricardo also hopes it will be effective.

"If you're looking for specific talent, and you're going to external headhunters for example, that's also not a cheap exercise," says Smart,   "What we want to do is get out into the marketplace, and we feel this is the best place to do it, and it's money very well spent."

Smart says the ads also raise awareness about Ricardo as an auto supplier.  The hiring, the company says, is yet another indication of economic recovery.

"The recovery is creating demand for engineering talent in many sectors of the economy but opportunities at Ricardo are being driven by something far more powerful," said Ricardo President Kent Niederhofer, in a statement releases by the company.  "Every industry Ricardo works with, including the military, automakers, off-road and heavy equipment companies and more, is looking for breakthroughs that will change the way we power our vehicles, factories and homes, and they're turning to us to help accelerate the pace of innovation."

More information is available at www.ricardocareers.com.  Ricardo will wrap this all up with a  career fair at its technical center in Van Buren Township on January 15th.